Gerald D. Irons, Sr. Junior High School in Conroe ISD is the first and only secondary school in the U.S. to be named after an NFL player.

Irons, who played professional football for the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns from 1970-80, moved to The Woodlands about 30 years ago. In the decades since he has had a 32-year career with The Woodlands Development Company, served on CISD’s board of trustees for 22 years and written a book, “When Preparation Meets Opportunity,” with his wife, Myrna.

“Getting to play football in the NFL—that was a dream of mine from childhood,” Irons Sr. said. “I always wanted to play professional football.”

Originally from Gary, Indiana, Irons is the youngest of seven children in his family, and his parents only received an education through eighth grade, he said. However, they made sure all of their children went to college.

“When I was trying to get into school, I wanted to get a scholarship because my father had worked hard and my mother had worked hard to send us all to college because they knew how important college education was,” Irons said.

When Irons first learned it was possible for him to earn a full scholarship to play football in college, he immediately asked his coach for more details. However, when he found out one of the stipulations was having good grades, he said his were not good enough.

“As fate would have it, I met Myrna,” Irons said. “I told her what my dreams were, but I told her I had a problem. I had bad grades. She said, ‘You and I could study together, and I can help you.’ So I ended up pulling my grades up and was able to get a scholarship.”

Irons said he wanted to be part of CISD’s school board because he wanted to provide the same motivation and inspiration to students that his parents provided for him and his siblings.

“I always wanted to give back, and I knew how important education is to success in life,” he said.

Irons instilled the value of education in his own children, too. All three of his sons went to school in CISD and went on to receive full football scholarships. His oldest son, Gerald Jr., played for the University of Nebraska; his middle son, Jarrett, played for the University of Michigan; and his youngest son, Grant, played for the University of Notre Dame and went on to play professionally for the Oakland Raiders.

“They worked hard and got good grades and got full scholarships to the colleges that they wanted to go to,” Irons said.

During his time on the CISD school board, Irons served as president and secretary, and Irons Junior High was officially named after him in 2011. He retired in 2012.

“Gerald Irons has made a tremendous impact in CISD,” CISD Superintendent Don Stockton said. “He served on the board of trustees for 21 years with dignity and honor. His impact continues today through his mentorship and support of students throughout CISD.”

When Irons was finishing his professional football career, George Mitchell, The Woodlands’ founder, sought him out to become the vice president of business development for The Woodlands Development Company.

Irons helped relocate hundreds of businesses to The Woodlands. Along the way, he learned Japanese in order to better understand business people visiting from Japan.

“I always noticed that the Japanese people would learn how to speak English, but typically we didn’t know how to speak Japanese,” Irons said.

He was later invited to spend a month in Japan, where he was honored at the Ten Outstanding People in the World conference in Osaka.

Irons’ list of accomplishments is long, and he said at the root of his success is high value in family, faith and education.

“You really have to watch who you surround yourself with,” Irons said. “Try to surround yourself with successful people because whoever you associate with makes a big difference.”